After the Ōnin War broke the Ashikaga order, a century of Sengoku warfare armed nearly every province in Japan. The era rewards a discriminating eye: routine work exists in quantity, and beside it stand custom blades of the first rank.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchSummary This blade is attributed to the work of Uda Kunimune (宇多国宗), a swordsmith active from the Nanbokuchō period to the early Muromachi period. He was one of the leading swordsmiths of the Uda school and a successor in the lineage of Uda Kunimitsu (宇多国光). Kunimune’s works are known for their well-forged jigane (steel texture) and practical yet elegant hamon (tempering pattern), reflecting the influence of the Yamato-den tradition. His swords were valued for their durability and cutting ability, making them highly sought after by samurai during turbulent times. Uda (宇多) is the prestigious school that originally flourished during the Nanbokuchoto-mid Muromachi period(approx. 1334-1491). It was founded by Kunimitsu(国光) in the late Kamakura period. The school was located in Etchu province in Toyama prefecture today. Kunimitsu was originally from Yamato Uda Gun(大和宇多郡), located in Nara prefecture but moved to Etchu in the late Kamakura period (1299-1333) with his apprentices including the first-gen Kunifusa(国房), and Kunimune(国宗). Kunimune played an essential role for the school to flourish after they moved to Etchu province. Uda school was famous for producing practically designed blades, which were desirable during Nanbokucho- Muromachi period. Among other schools in the Hokuriku region (the northwestern part of Honshu), Uda school was the most prominent school. It is appraised as a Tokubetsu Hozon Token (特別保存刀剣) issued by NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Touken Hozon Kyokai:日本美術刀剣保存協会). *Please keep in mind that there are a couple of minor Kitae Kizu on this blade. Tsuka and Menuki This menuki features a creature presumably resembling a Shishi (獅子), a guardian lion found in Japanese and East Asian culture. The Shishi symbolizes protection and the warding off of evil spirits. In Japan, it is commonly associated with Komainu (狛犬), guardian statues placed at the entrances of temples and shrines, believed to prevent malevolent forces from entering. Tsuba and Habaki This tsuba features both a dragon and a sword depicted together. The dragon is a mythical creature symbolizing strength and protection in East Asian cultures. In Japan, dragons are also revered as water deities, representing power, dignity, and a mysterious presence. The sword depicted may represent the Kurikara-ken (倶利伽羅剣), a sacred blade in esoteric Buddhism. This sword, wielded by Fudō Myō-ō (Acala), is engulfed in flames and symbolizes the power to cut through evil. The Kurikara-ken has a profound connection with dragons. According to Buddhist legend, Fudō Myō-ō harnessed the power of the dragon residing within the sword to vanquish evil and guide the lost toward righteousness. This dragon, known as Kurikara Ryū (倶利伽羅龍), is said to merge with the sword, be enveloped in flames, and incinerate enemies. Saya The entire saya is coated with black lacquer, adorned with finely scattered raden (螺鈿) embellishments. Raden is a decorative technique in which the iridescent layer from the inner surface of seashells (mother-of-pearl) is shaved thin and inlaid into lacquerware, sword fittings, furniture, and other objects. The decoration on this saya is referred to as “Hoshizora-nuri” (starry sky coating) or “Yozora-nuri” (night sky coating), creating a fantastical pattern reminiscent of a starry night sky. Authentication Paper They authenticated the blade on August 25th in the 5th year of Reiwa (2023). They appraised it as Tokubetsu Hozon Touken, the blade especially worth preserving for Japanese society.
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Wakimono · Etchu · around 1394-1428
Tōken Taikan top 37%
1 piece on the market now
Where Kunimune stands among comparable artisans: across all of nihontō, and within tradition, era, and period. The tiers (Foremost · Leading · Major · Notable) weigh official designations from the NBTHK and Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, together with historical honors of lasting repute such as the Sansaku and Meibutsu-chō.
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Wakimono · Etchu
Phase: Uda宇多· 1390–1596
25 pieces on the market now
Where Ko-Uda closes with the Nanbokuchō generations, the chapter that follows opens in early Muromachi and runs to the end of the period. The setsumei draw the boundary plainly: works that descend no later than Nanbokuchō are called Ko-Uda, while everything thereafter is referred to simply as Uda. This later phase is the long Muromachi continuation in Etchū, where the Kuni-named line that began with Ko-Nyūdō Kunimitsu of Uda District in Yamato extends across successive generations sharing single names. Kunihisa, read by the meikan as son of Kunifusa and active from the Ōei era, runs through several generations down to the close of Muromachi; Kunimune carries from Nanbokuchō into Muromachi with dated pieces around Bunmei; and the later registers add Kuninaga, Kuniyoshi, Hirakuni, Sanekuni, Kunikiyo, Tomohisa, and Kunitsugu, names the sources place from Eikyō through Tenshō. Because individuals individuate little, a signed blade of this phase is appraised as the manner of its dated moment rather than the hand of one smith. The steel of the later phase keeps the school's northern foundation while standardizing its expression. The setsumei describe itame mixed with mokume, the grain overall standing (hada-dachi) and tending to flow (nagare), with ji-nie adhering and chikei entering; the jigane leans blackish, and a shirake-utsuri stands distinctly in the ji, sometimes with ji-madara mottling. Over this the temper most often opens as a suguha-based or chū-suguha line into which ko-gunome runs continuously from base to point, ashi and yō entering, ko-nie adhering along a bright nioiguchi, with sunagashi and occasional kinsuji.
A second, more agitated face mixes gunome, ko-notare and pointed togariba with thick nie, yubashiri and tobiyaki that on a Kuninaga wakizashi tend toward hitatsura. Against the earlier Ko-Uda this reads more regularized: where the early generations stayed close to their Yamato and Sōshū models with archaic ji-ha, the later hands settle into the elongated Ōei tantō form (broad for its width, with uchizori) and, in the katana, the wide sun-nobi sugata of advancing Muromachi. The Kunitsugu katana shows this drift toward coarseness directly, its itame standing and rough, the nie uneven and the temper darkening at the edge. To separate later Uda from Ko-Uda is to read the steel before the temper. The whitish, standing jigane with its blackish cast and shirake-utsuri returns a blade to this phase even when a nie-laden midare recalls Sōshū at first glance, and a tightly forged ko-itame may, as with the better Kunihisa pieces, approach Rai Kunimitsu or Rai Kunitsugu before the dark northern grain brings it home. Distinctive markers recur across the named smiths: the bōshi that becomes pointed and is tempered down with a long kaeri, the flaring (susodoshii) nakago-jiri, somewhat coarse rounded nie mixed within the ha, and the particular shaping of the character kuni in the signature. Dated and signed pieces anchor the chronology, from a Kunihisa tantō of Ōei 7 to a Kunimune wakizashi placed around Bunmei and Hirakuni and Sanekuni works set near Tenbun. Provenance for the phase tends toward settled holding, with examples recorded in Honma's inventory of the Imperial collection rather than circulating. Learn more →
| Smith | Era | Designated |
|---|---|---|
| Kunihisa國久 | 1394-1428 | 10 |
| Kunimune國宗 | 1429-1479 | 5 |
| Tomotsugu友次 | 1381-1384 | 3 |
| Kunimune國宗 | 1394-1428 | 3 |
| Kunitsugu國次 | 1469-1487 | 3 |
The Muromachi period (1392 to 1573)
After the Ōnin War broke the Ashikaga order, a century of Sengoku warfare armed nearly every province in Japan. The era rewards a discriminating eye: routine work exists in quantity, and beside it stand custom blades of the first rank.
A Hozon-certified blade judged to show notably superior workmanship and a better state of preservation. The bar is higher: re-tempered blades and most unsigned Muromachi/Edo works are excluded.
The NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) is a public-interest incorporated foundation founded in 1948 and supervised by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō); it is based at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. Its expert panels physically examine each submitted work (shinsa) and issue a certificate (kanteishō) ranking it by artistic and historical merit. NBTHK papers are the most widely recognized standard of authentication for Japanese swords and fittings.
NBTHK official siteReturns/exchanges limited to defects caused by shipping (except willful misconduct or gross negligence by the company); customers must contact within 72 hours of receiving the product.